Decorative inserts for the arms and base of a chair

ABSTRACT

Decorative inserts to be attached to the arms and/or the legs of a base of a home or office chair to enhance the ornamentality of the arms and base and the visual appearance of the chair. Each chair arm has a recess formed therein within which to receive and retain an insert without the use of a fastener. Each leg of the chair base has a cavity formed therein within which to receive and retain an insert without the use of a fastener. The inserts are preferably detachable from the chair arms and chair base so as to be replaced by different decorative inserts so that the visual appearance of the chair can be customized on an as-needed basis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to one or more decorative inserts to be attached to the arms and/or base of a home or office chair to enhance the ornamentality of the arms and base and the visual appearance of the chair with which the inserts are associated. In a preferred embodiment, the inserts are detachable from the arms and base of the chair so as to be replaced by other inserts having a different shape, color, pattern, texture, etc.

2. Background Art

In some cases, it may be desirable to enhance the ornamentality of a home or office chair. In other cases, it may be desirable for the appearance of a chair to be coordinated with the decor of a room, such as wall paneling, wallpaper, other furniture, drapes, rugs, etc. From time-to-time, the mood of an individual changes, and he may wish to change the ornamentality of his chair to match his mood. Rather than having to buy an altogether new chair, it would be desirable to be able to quickly, easily and inexpensively change the appearance of the original chair on an as-needed basis without requiring the use of complicated tools or special skill.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general terms, decorative inserts are disclosed to be attached to each of a pair of arms and/or each of the legs of a base of a home or office chair without the use of fasteners to enhance the ornamentality of the arms and base and the visual appearance of the chair to suit the taste of the user or match the decor of a room in which the chair will be located. According to a preferred embodiment, the insets can be removed from the chair arms and chair base and replaced by other inserts having a different shape, color, pattern, texture, etc. so that the ornamental appearance of the chair can be customized on an as-needed basis.

Each chair arm has a recessed area at an outwardly facing side and a number of holes formed in the recessed area. Each insert to be attached to an arm has a corresponding number of protrusions projecting therefrom. The inset is pushed against the outside of the arm within the recessed area thereof so that the protrusions which project from the insert are received within respective ones of the holes. The protrusions of the arm are retained in the holes by means of a friction fit and without requiring the use of fasteners.

The chair base includes a plurality of radially-extending legs and a cavity formed in the top of each leg. Each insert is pushed into receipt by and inlaid within a cavity formed in one of the legs of the base. The inserts are held within the cavities of the legs by means of friction and without requiring the use of fasteners.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chair arm and a decorative insert to be attached thereto to enhance the ornamentality of the arm;

FIG. 2 shows the chair arm of FIG. 1 with the decorative insert attached thereto;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a chair base with decorative inserts attached to respective legs of the base; and

FIG. 4 shows the chair base of FIG. 3 with the decorative inserts attached thereto.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown an arm 1 of a home or office chair (not shown). The arm 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is one of a pair of typically identical arms that are connected to the chair back and/or to opposite sides of the chair seat in order to support the arms of a user who is seated upon the chair seat. Thus, the improvement described below is applicable to both arms of the chair, although only a single arm is illustrated. Moreover, the particular arm 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is for purposes of example only, and the improvement herein described is applicable to other arms having different shapes and sizes.

In order to be able to enhance the ornamentality of the arm 1, a decorative insert 3 is attached thereto. The arm 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 has an arm pad receptacle 5 formed (e.g., molded) in the top thereof within which to receive a pad (not shown) to provide a cushion for the user's arm. A generally semi-circular arm body 7 is coextensively joined to and extends downwardly from opposite ends of the arm pad receptacle 5. The arm body 7 is connected to and held in place adjacent one side of the chair seat. The insert 3 is attached to the arm 1 along the arm body 7.

To maximize the ornamentality of the arm 1 and the visual appearance of the chair to which the arm is connected, the insert 3 is received within a recess 8 formed in the outwardly-facing side of the arm so as to be visible to the user and passersby. The insert 3 is ideally attached to the arm 1 so as to either cover some of the arm body 7 (as is best shown in FIG. 2) or the entire body. In this same regard, the insert 3 may consist of a single ornamental member (as shown) or a plurality of members attached to the arm body 7. The insert 3 is preferably manufactured from a flexible material to facilitate its installation (and removal). However, the precise material from which the insert 3 is manufactured should not be considered as a limitation of this invention.

As is best shown in FIG. 1, the insert 3 includes one or more (e.g., cylindrical) protrusions or nubs 9 extending outwardly therefrom. Located in the arm body 7 within the recess 8 are a number of holes 10. In the example of FIG. 1, the number of holes 10 which are formed in the arm body 7 corresponds with the number of protrusions 9 which extend from the insert 3. The holes 10 are positioned along the arm body 7 and shaped to slidably and removably receive respective ones of the protrusions 9. The insert 3 is pushed against the arm 1 within the recess 8 of arm body 7 so that the protrusions 9 are received within the holes 10. The protrusions 9 are retained inside the holes 10 by means of a friction fit so that the insert 3 is attached to the arm 1 without the use of fasteners or tools to manipulate the fasteners.

The insert 3 can have any one of a variety of shapes, colors, patterns, textures, etc. so that the appearance of the chair can be customized to suit the taste of the user or match the decor of the room in which the chair is located. To this end, it is preferable that the insert 3 be detachable from the arm 1. In this case, a pulling force applied to the insert 3 causes the protrusions 9 to be removed from the holes 10 without the use of tools.

Once the insert 3 has been detached from the recess 8 formed in the body 7 of arm 1, a different insert may be substituted therefore. The new insert may have a different shape, color, pattern or texture, whereby the ornamental appearance of the chair to which the arm 1 is connected can be quickly and easily changed on an as-needed basis. The new insert is removably attached to the chair arm 1 in the same manner and without the use of tools as was earlier described with respect to the insert 3.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings, there is shown a base 20 that is often part of a home or office chair (not shown). The chair with which the base 20 is associated may be the same chair to which the chair arm 1 of FIGS. 1 and 2 is connected. The chair base 20, which is coupled to the chair below the seat, includes a plurality of radially-projecting legs 22. A wheel or roller (also not shown) is commonly attached to the bottom of each leg 22 to enable the chair to roll along the ground to be moved from place-to-place.

To enhance the ornamentality of the base 20 and the visual appearance of the chair to which the base is coupled, a decorative insert 25 is attached to the top of each leg 22 so as to be visible to the user and passersby. To accommodate the inserts 25 therewithin, a cavity 27 (best shown in FIG. 3) is formed in each leg 22. The cavities 27 of legs 22 are sized and shaped to receive respective ones of the inserts 25.

Like the inserts 3 of FIGS. 1 and 2, the inserts 25 of FIGS. 3 and 4 can have any one of a variety of shapes, colors, patterns, textures, etc. so that the ornamentality of the chair can be customized to suit the taste of the user or match the decor of the room in which the chair is located. The inserts 25 are simply pushed into receipt by and inlaid within the cavities 27 formed in the legs 22 of base 20 (best shown in FIG. 4). In this case, the inserts 25 are held in place within cavities 27 by means of friction.

It is preferable that the inserts 25 be detachable from the chair base 20. That is, a pulling or lifting force applied to each insert 25 causes the insert to be removed from its cavity 27. Once the insert 25 has been detached from base 20, a different insert may be substituted therefor. The new insert may have a different shape, color, pattern or texture, whereby the ornamental appearance of the chair can be quickly and easily changed on an as-needed basis. The new insert is removably attached to a corresponding leg 22 of the base 20 in the same manner as was earlier described with respect to the insert 25. 

1. A combination of an arm to be connected to at least one of a back or a seat of a chair and a decorative insert attached to the arm to enhance the ornamentality of said arm.
 2. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the chair arm includes a recess, said decorative insert being attached to the arm within said recess thereof.
 3. The combination recited in claim 2, wherein said decorative insert has at least one protrusion extending therefrom and the chair arm has at least one hole formed therein and located within said recess, said one protrusion being received by said one hole by which said insert is attached to the arm within said recess.
 4. The combination recited in claim 3, wherein the one protrusion of said decorative insert is retained within the one hole within the recess of the chair arm by means of friction, whereby said insert is attached to the arm without the use of a fastener.
 5. The combination recited in claim 4, wherein the one protrusion of said decorative insert is removable from the one hole within the recess of the chair arm, whereby said insert is detached from the arm to be replaced by a different decorative insert.
 6. A combination of a base to be coupled to a chair, wherein said base has a plurality of legs, and a corresponding plurality of decorative inserts attached to respective ones of said legs to enhance the ornamentality of said base.
 7. The combination recited in claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of legs of said base includes a cavity, said plurality of decorative inserts being attached to said plurality of legs within the cavities thereof.
 8. The combination recited in claim 7, wherein said plurality of decorative inserts are retained within the cavities formed in the plurality of legs of said base by means of friction, whereby said inserts are attached to the legs without the use of fasteners.
 9. The combination insert recited in claim 8, wherein at least some of said plurality of decorative inserts are removable from the cavities formed in the plurality of legs of said base, whereby said inserts are detached from the base to be replaced by different decorative inserts.
 10. A method to improve the ornamental appearance of a chair having an arm to support the arm of a user and a base to ride along the ground, said method comprising the steps of forming recesses in said arm and said base; locating decorative inserts within respective ones of said recesses; and retaining said inserts within said recesses without the use of fasteners.
 11. The method recited in claim 10, including the additional steps of detachably connecting said decorative inserts within said recesses formed in the chair arm and the chair base; and removing said inserts from at least some of said recesses to be replaced by different decorative inserts. 